Ford’s Australia Production Ends

Ford has been a main player in Australia’s automotive and manufacturing industry for nearly a century, but now the final Ford facility is closing its doors. While other carmakers like General Motors and Toyota are leaving Australia, Ford isn’t removing itself from the country entirely.

Ford’s Australia production had a 91-year run but, with the last model rolling off the Broadmeadows plant in Melbourne, that comes to an end as the year closes. 600 workers will lose their jobs.

The final model to roll off the line was a Falcon XR6 with a V6 under the hood. Nearly 3.5 million Falcons have been built since 1960, making it one of the Australia most popular models. Few Falcons were ever exported to other countries.

The final Falcon will find a home in the Ford Australia Museum.

Ford has cited high production costs, competition, and sheer distance from target markets as the reason for leaving Australia. The American carmaker will continue to service and sell imported models and engineers will design new vehicles to be manufactured elsewhere. In all, Ford will employ 2,000 people in Australia, ensuring that their presence will still be felt in communities abroad.